Baked egg, egg yolk and egg white challenges in egg-allergic children
What it found
In children under 3 with egg allergy, oral food challenges with a small amount of baked egg caused no allergic reactions, while challenges with egg yolk or egg white caused reactions in some children.
This was a study of children's medical records.
What they found
Studies in people
Reactions to baked egg
None of the 47 children who had a baked egg challenge had a positive result. Four children had mild short-lived symptoms such as a few hives or one episode of mild vomiting, which went away without treatment.
Reactions to egg yolk
17.4% of the 23 children who had an egg yolk challenge had a positive result. Their symptoms were mild, such as localized hives and itching in the mouth.
Reactions to egg white
22.2% of the 27 children who had an egg white challenge had a positive result. Two children had respiratory reactions, and symptoms included continuous coughing and repeated vomiting.
Adrenaline not needed
No child in any of the three groups needed adrenaline.
Other findings
Challenge doses differed
The baked egg challenge used a single dose of 0.65 mg of egg protein. The egg yolk and egg white challenges used much higher amounts of egg protein, with medians of 1,369 mg and 399 mg.
What the authors conclude
“We conclude that OFC with small amounts of BE is safer than OFC with EY or EW for reintroducing egg in children with a history of egg-induced reactions.”
Also in their conclusions
- They conclude that oral food challenge with small amounts of baked egg is safer than challenge with egg yolk or egg white for reintroducing egg in children with a history of egg-induced reactions.
- They say almost all children with egg allergy were able to consume small amounts of baked egg without experiencing severe allergic reactions.
- They advise that confirming baked egg tolerance through oral food challenge may help reduce dietary restrictions, even in young children.
How it was done
Baked egg is generally well tolerated by children with egg allergy, and heated egg yolk is considered less allergenic than egg white. No studies had directly compared the safety of reintroducing baked egg, egg yolk and egg white in these children.
The researchers looked back at the medical records of children under 3 years old with egg allergy who had oral food challenges with baked egg, egg yolk or egg white at one hospital between 2014 and 2024. There were 47 children in the baked egg group, 23 in the egg yolk group and 27 in the egg white group.
What it can’t tell you
- This was a retrospective study, so it may be affected by missing data and selection bias.
- It was done at a single center, so the results may not apply to other settings.
- The egg yolk and egg white groups were small, so smaller differences between groups may have been missed.
Who paid
- Conflicts
- The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
- Authors work at
- Kanagawa Children's Medical Center, Japan
The paper
- Title
- Comparative Safety of Baked Egg, Egg Yolk, and Egg White in Young Children with Egg Allergy
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Ohara Y, Matsumoto Y, Fujita M, Inuo C (2026). Comparative Safety of Baked Egg, Egg Yolk, and Egg White in Young Children with Egg Allergy. International archives of allergy and immunology. doi:10.1159/000548298Free full textPubMed 40901760DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error